Cornell's Hybrid Electric Vehicle team placed fourth overall out of 15 entries in the annual FutureTruck competition held this year in Yucca, Ariz., and at the California Speedway in Ontario, Calif., June 11-21.
Cornell's student team won $3,000 for the fourth-place finish and $3,500 in other awards -- $1,500 for first for oral presentation, $1,000 for first in appearance and $1,000 for winning the Most Innovative Use of NI (National Instruments) LabView Real-Time Award for using LabView Real-time software for virtual instrumentation. In addition Cornell received $1,000 from the Governors' Ethanol Coalition for the team's commitment to use 85 percent ethanol in its competition vehicle.
The Cornell team, which was advised by John Callister, the Harvey Kinzelberg Director of Entrepreneurship in Engineering and a lecturer in mechanical and aerospace engineering, consisted of 26 undergraduate and master of engineering students from the College of Engineering and two undergraduates from the College of Human Ecology. Engineering undergraduate Jonathan Schoenberg was the team leader.
The engineering goals of FutureTruck, which was sponsored by Ford Motor Co. and the U.S. Department of Energy, were to re-engineer a midsized 2002 Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle to improve fuel economy and lower emissions while retaining the vehicle's utility and customer appeal. The car is to run with a "hybrid" powertrain, which is, in most cases, a combination of internal combustion engine and electric motor power. The Cornell entry used a turbocharged 1.8-liter engine burning ethanol fuel, coupled to a 150 kW electric motor powered by a 336 volt battery pack. The teams also were required to maintain the performance, safety and features that consumers demand in a utility vehicle. First place overall went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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